Informative and bear-y funny.
Bears strut their stuff in this species overview.
This tongue-in-cheek introduction to the bear family follows the pattern of the creators’ I Am the Shark (2021). Each bear believes it is unique but discovers other ursine species. In order, readers meet a brown bear, a polar bear, an American black bear, a sloth bear, a spectacled bear, a sun bear, a giant panda, and an Asiatic black bear. Readers learn about their distinguishing physical features, habits and habitats, and favorite foods. Finally, a bear-masked octopus tries to join the group, which leads to them discussing bears’ many similarities, including general shape, four five-clawed paws, fur, speed, curiosity, good sense of smell, big appetite, and shared membership in the mammal family. The author concludes with a summary of the eight species and reminders that bears can be dangerous but are also threatened around the world. Lighthearted collage illustrations feature cartoon animals with large eyes and clear facial expressions as well as body language. Readers and lapsitters will be particularly amused by the extra details—such as other animals—but the illustrations are large enough to show to a group as well. The design makes good use of the suspense of page turns to keep the narrative flowing. This should appeal to the same audience that enjoys Maxwell Eaton’s The Truth About Bears (2018), which boasts a similar mix of fact and fantasy. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Informative and bear-y funny. (further reading, websites) (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780525645337
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
